Frank's Cottage

Was it a real, meaningful life decision? Or a desperate and cynical way to manufacture hope in the face of impending death?

That’s the question that occurred to me when I read about the last few months of Scott Adams’ life. The American author, cartoonist and media personality, best known as the creator of the comic strip Dilbert, died earlier this month after a very public battle with bone and prostate cancer.

Not long before his demise, Adams, 69, revealed that he was abandoning his agnostic worldview in favour of Christianity.

“Adams explained that his evolving perspective was shaped in part by interactions with Christian friends and supporters who had been praying for him and sharing their faith during his illness,” said an article on the Beliefnet website. “Their examples, conversations, and care influenced Adams to reconsider questions of God, eternity, and salvation.”

The article went to to explain that Adams “indicated the Christian vision of hope beyond death, combined with the moral and relational framework of the faith, had become increasingly compelling to him as he grappled with his own mortality.”

I can imagine some folks will roll their eyes and opt for the ‘desperate and cynical way to manufacture hope in the face his impending death’ explanation for all this. And I understand their skepticism.

But even if you’re not the cynical type, there’s something else to consider — an important point made by my pastor friend Ross Carkner.

Noting that he didn’t intend to denigrate Adams’ decision, Ross pointed out it’s not about comparing and selecting one religious belief system over another. That strikes me resembling a business or government tendering a project and picking the cheapest, most advantageous bidder as the “winner”.

It’s about a man — Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God. During His physical time on Earth, Jesus taught us how to live our best lives, showed us who God is, then paid the price for all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do. Put plainly, Jesus told anyone willing to listen that He is “the way, the truth and the life.”

Jesus also said this: “Anyone who hears what I say and believes in the One who sent me has eternal life. They will not be judged guilty. They have already left death and have entered into life.” In other words, eternal life begins RIGHT NOW for people who commit their lives and their future to Jesus.

Did Scott Adams understand this and accept this? Or did he commit his final days and his eternal future on a system of beliefs and morals? I hope you, as a person open to spirituality, can fully understand the difference and what it can mean for YOUR life.